President Barack Obama Message Board

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Politics : President Barack Obama

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ChinuSFO

To: ChinuSFO who wrote (143945)	6/28/2014 11:04:26 PM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	1 Recommendation of 149317

Re: "The problem we have is that we do not have a credible opposition." I agree. And I believe that Gerrymandering (and barriers against the entry of new political groups) are the tools that have produced that result. Gerrymandering has made districts safe for incumbents and our political power duopoly of Dem/Rep defends itself against outsiders. (And a massive cost to winning elections means that only those most-in-bed with 'old money' vested interests, who deliver the goods when their masters jerk on the draw strings, are even likely to be the ones at the starting gate for federal elections.) Public isn't 'stupid'. Public has been marginalized so they scarcely matter any more. Most folks don't have the time to get interested or involved. (And effective opposition to Gerrymandering can be neutralized with one side alternately used against the other because many will buy the argument that 'their side' is the one side that is always right, and the other side always evil... so whenever their 'good side' wins the coin toss and gains temporary control they want to USE the power that Gerrymandering offers them to try to perpetuate their side's advantages... but Gerrymandering is a funny thing... what it actually does is draw safe and unassailable districts that protect the cores of BOTH PARTIES. It doesn't actually provide any kind of 'permanent' victory to either. What it protects is the DUOPOLY against newcomers and new ideas.) Also... BOTH political parties defend it (and high barriers to entry to the political arena designed to keep new political parties and popular movements from ever gaining traction) through use of every devious and governmental trick available to them. That however is a natural human trait... same thing happened with trade guilds after the Middle Ages, happens with unions and big corporations now all throughout the world whenever they acquire some degree of monopolistic or oligopolistic power. It is a fundamental rule of BUREAUCRATIC BEHAVIOR. Once some group acquires power (as with the power that our two political parties have over the realm or political governance now), they ERECT a MOAT around their Fiefdom, they raise 'high barriers to entry' against all else to protect their power and perpetuate it. Gerrymandering locks third parties out of the game, and also increasingly (in modern times) tips the scales against compromise and new ideas and effective cooperation which also serves to further entrench the cores of the two political bureaucracies in their monopoly on power. Exact same thing has happened countless times down throughout history. Democracy tends by it's very nature to push against this impulse for centralization of power and entrenchment of the bureaucracy but it (although still a very powerful impulse in it's own right) seems over-matched by the old guard and the vested interests here.

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